Councilors: Heather, Donna and I are pleased to announce that we have reached the decision to unanimously recommend Carlos Gutiérrez to serve as the next GNSO Council liaison to the GAC (See attached motion). We received and reviewed applications from three candidates, each of whom had been nominated by an SG or C of the Non-Contracted Party House. The applications set out in detail their qualifications and experience relevant to this role, and we believe that each would have well-represented the GNSO. We believe that all candidates met or exceeded our published required skills set and desired experience, which made our evaluation and selection all the more challenging. As a result, we considered additional strengths and areas of expertise that each could contribute to this role and the particular challenges it currently faces. Ultimately, it was Carlos’ direct experience with the GAC, as the former GAC representative for Costa Rica, that differentiated him from the other applicants. While direct experience with the GAC is not a requirement of the liaison role, in light of the recent and ongoing discussions within the GNSO Council about the relationship between GNSO recommendations, GAC Advice and ICANN Board action, it is our hope and expectation that Carlos can leverage this experience, and existing relationships and trust in particular, to hit the ground running and make an immediate impact in this role. A key task for the liaison at this point in time is building a bridge between GAC and GNSO working methods to encourage earlier and greater GAC participation in our heavy PDP workload. While this will not be an easy task, we believe that Carlos is well placed to tackle it. If approved by Council, Carlos will assume this role at the end of the upcoming ICANN57 in Hyderabad, on the expiry of his current term on the GNSO Council. Once again, we emphasize that we considered that all candidates' applications clearly demonstrated that they could very capably serve in this role, and that each would contribute their own unique experience and talents. The GNSO Chairs thank these candidates for volunteering, and hope they will do so again in the future for this role, or other high-profile positions. Finally, we ask that all Councilors and members of the GNSO community thank Mason Cole for his service in the inaugural launch of this liaison role, along with his agreeing to extend his service, and to assist with this transition. Thank you, J.